Barrio Escalante, San José

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Cristales, by Marijose Terán. The eye is immediately caught in a physical contradiction: the absolute transparency of glass against the density of a sea of crumpled paper.
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Marijose Terán

CristalesSold

Year
2010
Technique
Mixed Media
Dimensions
150 × 130 cm
Status
Sold
Palette
newsprint, carbon black, brick red, warm gray, ivory white
Brushwork
Illusionistic technique with a smooth finish, featuring meticulous drawing over a fragmented and folded typographic background.

Curatorial analysis

The eye is immediately caught in a physical contradiction: the absolute transparency of glass against the density of a sea of crumpled paper. In this large format, Marijose Terán arranges four pieces of domestic glassware that challenge two-dimensionality through relentless optical precision. Each object (a stylized decanter, a monumental chalice with a spherical bowl, a low cup, and a faceted tumbler) acts as a lens that absorbs, breaks, and distorts the newspaper texts lying beneath.

The surface is built upon a bed of topographical folds where news stories, editorial columns, and headlines from the Costa Rican newspaper La Nación lose their linear sequence to become pure texture. Within that structured chaos of sharp shadows and creases, the headline printed in red ink, «No hay que sobrevivir hay que vivir», serves as a visual anchor and conceptual tension in the upper left corner. The vertical rigidity of the glass and the apparent fragility of the paper engage in a continuous dialogue: that which should be heavy and transparent floats lightly, while the printed information turns into a rugged, dense relief.

Light does not illuminate the scene passively from the outside; it refracts and curves within the thickness of the glass walls, casting sharp highlights of pure white that delineate borders and create palpable volume. By warping the typography behind every vitreous curve, Terán demonstrates total mastery of mimetic draftsmanship, turning optical distortion into the true subject of the piece.

Rather than a traditional still life, the work operates as a commentary on perception and the passage of time. Ephemeral news, destined to be discarded or used to wrap everyday objects, becomes petrified and reinterpreted through glass prisms that filter current events, compelling the viewer to pause between fragmentary reading and contemplative gaze.

Cristales

More works by Marijose Terán

60 works

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View all 60 works by Marijose Terán

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